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is GPS in new iPhone "Real" GPS?

G

gonar

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 10, 2008
7
0
is the A-GPS in the new iPhone "real" GPS (as in something like a SiRF Star III chip like many "smart" phones have) or is it fake "Cell Tower" GPS?

they haven't officially released the full hardware spec, and the one leaked spec I saw didn't enumerate a GPS chip...

I go many places where cell towers ain't and built in real GPS just might put the iPhone over the top for me. similarly, "Cell Tower" GPS would make it a no go.
 
gonar said:
is the A-GPS in the new iPhone "real" GPS (as in something like a SiRF Star III chip like many "smart" phones have) or is it fake "Cell Tower" GPS?

they haven't officially released the full hardware spec, and the one leaked spec I saw didn't enumerate a GPS chip...

I go many places where cell towers ain't and built in real GPS just might put the iPhone over the top for me. similarly, "Cell Tower" GPS would make it a no go.
Click to expand...

It's Assisted GPS... using cell towers and such..
 
Assisted GPS means that it first looks to the cellphone towers to find your approximate location and then uses real GPS after this to track your position much more accurately. Using the cell phone towers means that it's much quicker to find your location, although I wonder what it will do if there is no coverage or if it can't work it out, will it use real GPS too?

This isn't like a satellite navigation unit you'd find in a car though - all of the maps are downloaded every time you use them, meaning you need good cell phone coverage to see the map and use GPS. This is by no means a good replacement for a tomtom and is definitely not a good idea for people who go exploring in remote areas.
 
neiltc13 said:
This isn't like a satellite navigation unit you'd find in a car though - all of the maps are downloaded every time you use them, meaning you need good cell phone coverage to see the map and use GPS. This is by no means a good replacement for a tomtom and is definitely not a good idea for people who go exploring in remote areas.
Click to expand...

If you buy the TomTom software for the iPhone i don't really see how it's any different?
 
So the answer is: yes, it's real GPS. More to the point, it also uses cell towers and wi-fi hotspots to give greater accuracy and to enable position when a GPS signal is not available (like indoors, or in a big city like London where the signal is unreliable).

AS for the Tom Tom software - correct. Once you've installed it on your new iPhone 3G, you can sell your TomTom satnav!
 
FSUSem1noles said:
I have read the website, he asked if it uses cell towers, which it does... it isn't like a car GPS system...

hence my comment "cell towers and such..."
Click to expand...

And you implied that he was correct in that it's not a "real" GPS system...it IS. It's actually better than car GPS systems, because it will utilize cell towers to get a faster lock. For example, I have a Garmin Nuvi. If I leave it turned off, and drive for a long time, and then turn it on, it will take upwards of a minute to establish its location (anytime you change location significantly without the GPS unit being aware of your movement, this will happen). With A-GPS, the initial lock will be much faster no matter how far you travel, because it can feed cell tower location into the GPS subsystem.

For the last time...A-GPS is real GPS! There have already been a dozen threads about this. It uses satellites just like any other GPS system, the difference is that it can also incorporate data from cell towers to make the initial lock faster and more accurate.

A-GPS is better than GPS.
 
mrogers said:
And you implied that he was correct in that it's not a "real" GPS system...it IS. It's actually better than car GPS systems, because it will utilize cell towers to get a faster lock. For example, I have a Garmin Nuvi. If I leave it turned off, and drive for a long time, and then turn it on, it will take upwards of a minute to establish its location (anytime you change location significantly without the GPS unit being aware of your movement, this will happen). With A-GPS, the initial lock will be much faster no matter how far you travel, because it can feed cell tower location into the GPS subsystem.

For the last time...A-GPS is real GPS! There have already been a dozen threads about this. It uses satellites just like any other GPS system, the difference is that it can also incorporate data from cell towers to make the initial lock faster and more accurate.

A-GPS is better than GPS.
Click to expand...

I did not imply that, I said, it's A-GPS..

Nor did I say, GPS is better or vice versa.. I was merely letting him know what it was..

So please continue dissecting my 7 word response..
 
Thanks!

Thanks for clarifying that.

now I just need Tom-Tom software with AMC topo trail map overlays :)
 
FSUSem1noles said:
I did not imply that, I said, it's A-GPS..

Nor did I say, GPS is better or vice versa.. I was merely letting him know what it was..

So please continue dissecting my 7 word response..
Click to expand...

You weren't clear, that was my point.

gonar said:
Thanks for clarifying that.

now I just need Tom-Tom software with AMC topo trail map overlays :)
Click to expand...

No problem. With the Tom-Tom software I think the new iPhone will be a great nav device. Google Maps will work too, but Tom-Tom will be better for turn-by-turn directions and, of course, anywhere you don't have a signal to download maps.
 
The TomTom app may very well download maps for your area(no cell signal needed afterward)
We don't know yet...
 
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